Ghosts of Tsushima’s White Scandal

Ghosts of Tsushima, the samurai simulator developed by Sucker Punch Productions for the Sony PlayStation 4, has been released to very positive reception from critics and fans alike for its beautiful samurai aesthetic and exciting gameplay that is said to out-assassin Assassin’s Creed. It may indeed be an enjoyable video game, but underneath the “fun” lurks the game’s scandalous secret: Ghosts of Tsushima was developed by white people.

That’s right. Despite playing as a Japanese character in feudal Japan, the game itself is a white man’s creation. While white developers are allowed and encouraged to create video games that include minorities, there is a limit to how many non-white characters can be in a white man’s video game before it becomes cultural appropriation: one black character, one LGBT character, one Asian character, and one Latinx character that always says “pendejo” as Latinx people always do. Not only does Ghosts of Tsushima lack black, Latinx, and LGBT characters, but it does not even respect the limit of Asian characters allowed in a cisgender white man’s video game.

It would surprise nobody that gamers overlook this problematic element—they are neckbearded incels with no redeeming factors whatsoever—but even critics have condoned this racist cultural appropriation. Even worse, Kotaku, a gaming journalism outlet I once considered on the right side of history, fueled the flames of white supremacist patriarchy by posting an article with quotes from Japanese critics that all praise Ghosts of Tsushima. The Japanese may consider the game respectful of Japanese culture, but as an Asian American (part Filipino, to be exact), I can say that they are wrong and what Sucker Punch Productions did is unacceptable.

Ghosts of Tsushima is not worth your time. It may be fun, but does that matter? If so, it’s time you questioned why you even play video games. Skip this one, folx, and grab yourself The Last of Us Part II instead. That’s a video game that shows respect to its non-white, female, and LGBT characters, pendejo*.

^{*I’m also part Mexican.}

Sony and Microsoft Ready New Consoles in Time for the Recession

If news that the United States has officially fallen into a recession left you feeling down, Sony’s and Microsoft’s latest announcements are sure to cheer you up. The next generation of gaming is quickly approaching as both companies prepare events that will provide all the details you need to know for the upcoming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. We do not yet know much about either console yet, but from what we do know, such as their support for real-time raytracing and 8K output, one thing is for sure: These will not be cheap devices. If you’re one of the lucky few who still has a job when the second wave of COVID-19 hits this fall, you’ll want to save your stimulus check for one of these devices! How else will you be able to enjoy new experiences impossible on previous generations such as a new Halo game by Microsoft and unannounced title by Sony?

Man Who Does Not See Race Outraged by Character’s Skin Color

Bobby Brian, a sensible man who has oft been quoted as “not seeing race,” has declared a boycott on Netflix after the streaming service revealed that Ciri, a character in its upcoming show, “The Witcher”, will be played by a woman of color.

“Netflix is trying to ruin a great series with social justice,” Brian told the Bard. “This is even worse than when Michael B. Jordan played Johnny Storm or when Samuel L. Jackson played Nick Fury.” Brian then sniffled as he drew a finger across the poster of David Hasselhoff on his wall.

Brian’s boycott has already gathered steam as other sensible men who do not see race and wish social justice warriors would stop making race a big deal join the cause. Along with the demand to recast a white woman as Ciri, they also demand that a white woman play Starfire in DC’s “Titans” show, and a white man play Nick Fury in the next Marvel movie.

“This has nothing to do with race,” Brian insisted repeatedly to the Bard. “Netflix cast Geralt perfectly with Henry Caville. Why botch it up and make Ciri black?”

Netflix has not responded to requests for comment as of this article’s publication.

Local Drummer Offers Free Performance for Neighbors Each Night

Every night is like Coachella for the residents of Humboldt Street. At 8 PM, when families are preparing for bed after busy days, sixteen-year-old Chris Ulrich steps into his parents’ garage, grabs his drumsticks, and performs on the drum-set his uncle bought him for his birthday two months for one, sometimes two, hours.

Unlike many other musicians, Ulrich does not perform cover pieces nor does he even write music. Instead, he embraces the rhythm beating in his heart and amplifies it through his drums. The most amazing part about this teenage prodigy? Ulrich has never had a day of musical training. This lack of formality gives his performances a raw, unconfined sound that does not conform to any genre but instead is best identified as a post-modern improvisation of modern music.

Although some of his neighbors expected the boy to neglect his musical career once school resumed, most have now accepted that Ulrich is committed to the craft and will continue to perform his neighbors every night.

Neither Ulrich nor his parents could not be reached for comment.

Lana del Rey Faces Pressure to Cancel US Tour Amidst Human Rights Violations

After receiving criticism for her decision to perform in Israel, pop singer Lana del Rey has found herself in the midst of another controversy as pressure increases for her not only to cancel her performances in Israel, but also in the United States of America.

Citing numerous violations of human rights by the United States of America due to their zero-tolerance immigration policy that have separated immigrant families, many of whom have yet to be reunited, and unlawfully imprisoned them in cages, critics have urged performers to show solidarity to the America’s victims and cancel performances in the country. “If you perform in a nation that violates human rights such as Israel, China, Russia, or America, you are showing your support for that nation’s actions,” political expert John Graham told the Bard. “You enable them to continue their human rights violations.”

While the singer reaffirmed her commitment to performing in Israel on Instagram, adding that she would also visit Palestine during her trip, she has yet to respond to the call not to perform in the United States. Many artists have already canceled performances in Israel as well as America. Tours on entire continents, including Europe and North America with the exception of Canada, have been dropped to show solidarity for the marginalized and oppressed in those regions.

In spite of the political controversy of performing in an oppressive region, Lana del Rey’s tour dates remain sold out, confirming that all Americans adore and fully support their current administration.

Franchise Fatigue to Blame for Poor Box Office Sales

HOLLYWOOD, CA—After the latest Star Wars movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story, severely underperformed and is expected to end its box office run with a loss of at least $80 million, movie companies are trying to determine the cause of the recent batch of movies that have failed to attract audiences. Some are speculating that moviegoers are experiencing a “Star Wars movie fatigue.”

“When Star Wars: The Force Awakens made two billion dollars, we expected that future movies would enjoy similar success,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Disney’s Lucasfilms. “However, we are discovering that movies made by committees that lack imagination and appeal to the lowest common denominator of audiences and rely solely on the strength of the brand are not drawing in the public as much as before.” When asked if Disney has a plan to deal with the recent Star Wars fatigue, Kennedy stated, “We have a Boba Fett movie in the works right now. He’s pretty popular, almost as popular as Han Solo, so that should be a much bigger success.”

Marvel Studios, also owned by Disney, has avoided this fatigue by spreading out the release of its movies: Ant-Man and the Wasp was released a whopping two months after the last Marvel movie, Avengers: Infinity War, which finally arrived after three months from Black Panther. However, analysts are sure that Marvel will suffer in the box office from a similar movie fatigue sometime in the next decade.

Other studios have suffered from similar fatigues. Last November, Warner Bros.’ Justice League failed to reach the success of even the divisive Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which Warner Bros. promised would ape Marvel Studios films even more blatantly and half-assedly than previous attempts. All of Sony’s and Paramount’s have also suffered from fatigues of their respective brands, including popular ones such as Ghostbusters.

“The problem with Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, was that a few decades between movies was just not enough time for the audience to rest and be ready for the next one,” said Paul Feig, director of Ghostbusters. “People do not have time in their busy schedules to watch three movies in thirty years.” Despite suffering from fatigue of most of their franchises, Sony is optimistic that their next movie, The Emoji Movie 2, will be a success now that people are no longer suffering from Emoji Movie fatigue.

Production on Sonic the Hedghog movie gears up

HOLLYWOOD, CA—After many quiet years, fans all over the world can now rejoice: production on the Sonic the Hedgehog movie has finally begun! The hotly anticipated movie is expected to arrive in 2019 and will take the world by storm as thousands of fans of the acclaimed SEGA mascot will now get to see him as they always dreamed: in a live-action film full of human characters.

After bouncing around multiple studios, the movie found itself at Paramount, known for such hit franchises as Transformers and the new monster cinematic universe, the first of which was The Mummy starring Tom Cruise. Sonic the Hedgehog may prove to be the last piece of this trifecta in Paramount’s winning strategy as Sonic the Hedgehog is still a popular character in spite of SEGA’s many assassination attempts. Though video game movies are often derided as terrible, that will probably not be the case for Sonic the Hedgehog, which is said to be an action comedy. Ask about the hedgehog anywhere around the internet, and you are sure to get tons of laughs.

It is not known which of Sonic’s many other friends will make it into the movie, but at the very least, we can expect Dr. Eggman will make it. Sonic will also have a human sidekick played by Westworld’s James Marsden, who was recently confirmed to play a cop that befriends the hedgehog. Other questions, such as whether Sonic will have a human girlfriend or if he will use guns, are still unanswered, but the movie’s PG-13 rating suggests both to be a possibility.

Unfortunately we have to wait at least another year before the movie arrives. 2019 can’t come fast enough!

Warner Bros. Hard at Work Ruining Aquaman and Shazam

SAN DIEGO, CA—After the positive reception the trailers of Shazam and Aquaman received from Comic-Con patrons, executives at Warner Bros. have announced that they are already at work at ruining the two films in time for release.

“While Wonder Woman unfortunately escaped our micromanagement, we are already hard at work at ensuring the directors of both movies make massive changes to the movie in response to the reception of focus groups consisting of people who know even less about DC characters than we do,” said Bill Pickman, one of Warner Bros.’ faceless and powerful executives. When asked why they continue to meddle with the movies when the main criticism aimed at them is the obvious executive meddling, Pickman responded, “With the changes we are demanding, such as expensive comedic reshoots for Aquaman and advertising future movies in development in Shazam, we are ensuring that the Worlds of DC remain a viable and profitable venture.” When it was pointed out that the last movie, Justice League, underperformed severely even with all the changes Pickman and his fellow executives demanded, he shrugged his shoulders.

While the movies are already said to be complete, Pickman promised that after a few months of reshoots and edits, both movies will feel overstuffed without being fleshed out, and sparse but still outdrawn. It is a feat the executives are almost close to perfecting, Pickman stated.

Local Movie Slightly Underperforms

HOLLYWOOD, CA—Lucasfilm’s Solo: A Star Wars Story was reported to have slightly underperformed during its cinematic run with a small loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. Although preliminary forecasts suggested that the movie could exceed a billion dollars as the last three Star Wars movies had, Solo was unable to reach even half that amount in ticket sales and is not expected to do much more now that much better movies such as Unfriended: Dark Web and Teen Titans Go! to the Movies are now in theaters.
“Although ticket sales were not as high as we had hoped,” Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, told the Bard,“we believe this movie has done well and Lucasfilm will continue with our plan to release origin movies of other tertiary characters in the Star Wars universe, including Greedo and the opera singer from The Last Jedi.”
Despite its muted performance, few are blaming the quality of the movie itself. Professional critics believe that fans are suffering from Star Wars fatigue because of the amount of amazing Star Wars movies coming out in such a short amount of time. “Four Star Wars movies have come out in the last three years,” Chip Robertson, top critic of Rotten Tomatoes, said. “That’s literally unheard of. Name one other franchise that has released movies annually and maintained unprecedented success.” Others are blaming the fact that Mercury is in retrograde. Either way, the film’s quality is not in question and neither is Kathleen Kennedy’s flawless performance as president of Lucasfilm.
The next Star Wars movie, Jar Jar: A Star Wars Story, has been delayed as it undergoes hasty edits and expensive reshoots that will surely help it exceed a billion dollars in box office sales.